Former South Daytona magistrate pleads guilty to bribery

ORLANDO -- A disbarred lawyer who presided over hundreds of code enforcement cases for the city of South Daytona pleaded guilty to bribery in federal court Wednesday.

With his plea, Jerome Mitchell, 42, of Port Orange, officially entered into an agreement with prosecutors that calls for leniency if he cooperates in this and other probes.

A federal prosecutor said for the first time they are planning to charge Mitchell in two separate cases involving charges that include mortgage fraud and money laundering, but declined to elaborate. Mitchell told the judge he is addicted to alcohol and recovering from addiction to cocaine, alcohol and anti-anxiety medications.

Earlier this month, Mitchell and his longtime friend former South Daytona Mayor Ron Clifton, 42, were charged with accepting a combined $12,500 in bribes to get code enforcement fines reduced at a condominium at 3131 S. Ridgewood Ave. Clifton pleaded guilty last week to accepting a bribe and providing false information to FBI agents.

As was the case with Clifton, the plea agreement reached between the government and Mitchell says federal prosecutors will recommend a judge give a lighter sentence. The maximum penalty for bribery is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The recommendation is not mandatory. It would be based on cooperation Mitchell provides in this and two other pending investigations, the plea agreement says. The government lawyers also agree they will request a less severe sentence for Mitchell's "acceptance of responsibility."

"I want to plead guilty because I am guilty," Mitchell told the judge.

Mitchell's legal woes, which have grown over the past several years to include lawsuits and foreclosures on at least three properties he owns, began in 2009. He was disbarred that year for his handling of real estate transactions that allowed a gasoline distributor to disappear with $25 million in phony bank loans, officials said.

That former client of Mitchell's, Biju Abraham, ran a company called Global Market. Abraham hasn't been seen since.

His legal problems may worsen before they get better. Daniel Irick, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Mitchell is the target of two separate investigations by the U.S. Secret Service and FBI on charges that include mortgage and bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.

"We are pursuing charges," Irick said.

Many questions remain unanswered. Who offered the bribes? Who was behind it? Is there a connection between this and the two pending cases?

The U.S. Attorney's Office says they do not discuss such things. No one has been charged with bribing the officials.

Joe Yarbrough, city manager for South Daytona, said city officials discussed Mitchell's status after he was disbarred for his missteps in the Abraham real estate deals. After some discussion, the city decided to keep Mitchell on because many liked working with him.

The bribery case came to light last year, on July 8, when Mitchell reduced the $241,000 code enforcement liens at the River Club Condominiums to $12,500. The actions were not on the agenda. Yarbrough said Mitchell was promptly dismissed.

Court documents say Clifton met with "the purported investors representative" two months earlier, and they talked about getting the code enforcement liens reduced. In that meeting, Clifton suggested Mitchell would reduce the liens for cash.

Mitchell on Wednesday said he doesn't know where this and other investigations mentioned in court are headed. He's also not sure what motivated the FBI's motivation in the bribery case.

"I don't know what their objective was," he said before the hearing.

Mitchell pulled up to the federal courthouse driving a black Cadillac Escalade. Accompanied by a young woman in a linen dress, Mitchell appeared before the judge wearing a black suit and plaid tie.

The judge asked Mitchell a list of routine questions. Mitchell was asked to describe what he did, in his own words.

"I accepted a bribe, to rule a certain way," he said. "To reduce fines for an entity who came before me, as a South Daytona special magistrate."

The judge told Mitchell that by pleading guilty, he gives up his rights to vote, sit on a jury, hold public office or possess a firearm. "Do you understand?" the judge said.

"Yes sir," he answered.

Mitchell elaborated on his role in the bribery, which took place June 1, 2010, at the Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Port Orange.

"I got a call from Mr. Clifton," Mitchell said. "I arrived there, another person showed up and it was discussed the need to reduce fines at the River Club Condominiums. I agreed to do that, I took the money and reduced the fines."

Like Clifton, who will be sentenced in September, Mitchell is allowed to remain free, for now. But he must get permission to leave Central Florida and undergo evaluation for substance abuse.

Mitchell has already surrendered his passport while awaiting trial in an unrelated state case. That charge before Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson, expected to go to trial next month, stems from Mitchell's arrest in 2008 for misappropriating over $100,000 in escrow funds in a Port Orange land deal that fell through.

Mitchell's lawyer, Mike Lambert, said they were asked by the government not to reveal who offered the bribes outside the court.